Dear Parishioners:
The Temptation of Jesus is a
sobering reality. As St. Mark puts it,
Jesus “remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan. He was among
wild beasts, and the angels ministered to him.” Following this experience, He came out of the Desert with the First
Proclamation of the Gospel. “This is the time of
fulfillment. The kingdom of God
Encounter with God involves meeting
both the beast and the angel. At times,
this may be outside ourselves. But we
must also admit that within our own hearts are the earth-bound and the vision
of Eternity.
Native Americans tell the story of
two wolves: An old Cherokee chief was teaching his grandson about life... "A fight is going on inside me," he
said to the boy. "It is a
terrible fight and it is between two wolves.
"One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, self-doubt, and ego.
"The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.
"This same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too."
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather,
"Which wolf will win?"
The old chief simply replied, "The one you feed."
"One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, self-doubt, and ego.
"The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.
"This same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too."
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather,
"Which wolf will win?"
The old chief simply replied, "The one you feed."
Jesus’ response to this battle going
on inside and outside of us is to confront it in the power of the Holy Spirit. The move of the Spirit leads us then to go
beyond where we have been, to seek fulfillment in a living relationship with
God, acknowledging His rule over us. God
must be first in our lives or we are not on the road to the Kingdom. We must repent, that is, change our minds,
re-think, see from God’s perspective rather than the way the world sees. The Gospel tells us that the world is
destined for more, for something greater, for something beyond our imagining.
As we journey through Lent, may we
face temptation with courage and learn to trust more fully in the grace of God
to see us through.
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